The volume and value of goods produced by Irish manufacturing businesses fell again between December and the end of February compared with the same period last year, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures have revealed.
Manufacturing industries produced 4.6 per cent less volume over the three months to the end of February that in the same period last year.
Industrial turnover, the value of the goods produced, also declined by 14 per cent on an annual basis, the CSO said.
Output from the sector has been falling since May of last year.
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Production within the highly globalised “modern sector”, which includes the multinational-dominated chemical, pharmaceutical and computer and electronic sectors, was down 4.7 per cent year-on-year.
“In comparison, production in the traditional sector decreased by 3.3 per cent when compared with the same period a year ago,” said Gregg Patrick, statistician in the enterprise statistics division of the CSO.
The figures cover manufacturing activities undertaken by companies headquartered in Ireland, the CSO said. That includes both production within the State and activities conducted abroad by subsidiaries or foreign subcontractors.
Irish manufacturing, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, has had a turbulent 12 months due to the Trump administration’s trade agenda and geopolitical tensions.
Last week, the White House announced 100 per cent tariffs on certain imported medicines, albeit with several major exemptions, in the administration’s latest move to pressure drugmakers to manufacture more in the US. Pharma companies operating out of Ireland are likely to face, at most, a lower 15 per cent tariff that applies across the EU with most of the big players enjoying zero tariffs having struck “most favoured nation” deals with the US administration.
In AIB’s most recent purchasing managers’ index (PMI) report for the manufacturing sector, factory owners reported a sharp increase in the price of key inputs last month, highlighting the early impact of the US-Iran war on energy and materials supplies.
Still, the report indicated that factories were able to pass on those higher costs to their customers due to strong demand for their products at home and abroad.
Production volumes also increased at the fastest pace since July 2025, AIB said. Increases have now been recorded in each of the last five consecutive quarters.
Meanwhile, larger volumes of new work from abroad helped boost manufacturing order books in March, according to the report, which is based on a survey of some 250 companies.
